Next Morning We Sailed Into This Gulf, And
Found That It Was The Mouth Of A Large River, Not A Great Deal Less In My
Opinion Than The Gambia, And Both Its Banks Were Full Of Very Beautiful
Tall Trees.
We cast anchor within the mouth of this river, and agreed to
send two armed boats on shore with our interpreters to get intelligence
respecting the country, according to our usual practice.
This was done
accordingly, and our interpreters, brought back word that the river was
called Kasamansa, from a Negro lord of that name who resided at a place
about thirty miles up the river; but who was absent from his residence,
on a warlike expedition against the lord of a neighbouring territory.
On receiving this intelligence, we sailed from this river next day,
without attempting any traffic with the natives. This river of Kasamansa
is twenty-five leagues, or 100 miles to the south of the Gambia[5].
Standing on about twenty-five miles farther, we came to a cape which is a
little more elevated than the rest of the coast, and as its front had a
red colour, we named it Cape _Roxo_, or _Rosso_. Proceeding forwards, we
came to the mouth of a pretty large river about a crossbow-shot wide,
which we did not enter, but to which we gave the name of the river of St
Ann. Farther on still, we came to the mouth of another river, not less
than the former, which we named St Dominic, or St Domingo[7]; distant
from Cape Rosso, by our estimation, between fifty-five and sixty miles.
In another days sailing, we came to a very large river, which at first
appeared to be a gulf, and was judged to be about twenty miles in breadth;
but we could observe the beautiful trees on the south side, and it took
us a considerable time to sail across to that side.
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